Two Indian Army pilots were killed when their Cheetah helicopter crashed in Himachal Pradesh on Thursday, an official here said.
A defence spokesman identified the pilots as Lt Col J M P D’Cunha and Major Puneet Karol.
The crash occurred at 10.50 am in Karcham in the tribal district of Kinnaur soon after the helicopter lost contact with the Air Traffic Control (ATC).
The Army Aviation Corps (AAC) helicopter had taken off from Jalandhar and was to fly to Bhavnagar to Karcham - both in Himachal Pradesh - before returning to its base.
There were differing accounts of how the accident occurred. Eyewitnesses near the crash site reported to have told local officials that the helicopter caught fire after it got entangled in high-voltage electricity wires while trying to land. However, police said the helicopter crashed after its rotors got entangled in a span wire strung across two mountains.
Rescue teams were dispatched to the area where the helicopter crashed, a defence official said. A court of inquiry had also been ordered, he added.
Cheetah helicopters are used to ferry personnel and supplies, as also for reconnaissance. Thursday’s crash was the second of a Cheetah this year and the seventh of a military aircraft.
On April 11, two pilots were killed when an Indian Air Force (IAF) Cheetah crashed over the Siachen glacier in Jammu and Kashmir. The IAF also lost five other aircrafts in the last five months.
Soon after assuming office last month, the IAF chief, Air Chief Marshal Fali Major, had said the force had recorded its lowest rate of 0.36 per cent accidents per 10,000 flying hours in its 75-year history.